We made it to the gym yesterday. But we took it easy, stayin' off those bikes and cross-trainers and whatever the hellz you call 'em. :) We went to the gym without sleeping from our night out. Two weekends in a row for me going to the gym. That's a record. Now let's see if I can start getting myself to go during the week at school. I mean, I should since I'm paying for it anyway. We have to pay a mandatory fee to use the facilities on campus, whether we plan to use them or not.

Anyway... didn't do anything last night. Pretty much wasted the day sleeping and doing nothing really productive. Well, except for watching my favorite show when it finally came on after all that stupid sports crap. "Alias" was good last night! A lotta crazy things went down in that episode. I wonder what's gonna happen next! Jennifer Garner - she oughta be my motivation for trying to get into a gym routine. I'm gonna learn to do what she does. Hehe... And I think I wanna go see that movie she's starring in with Ben Affleck - "Daredevil." I also wanna see that movie with Queen Latifah and Steve Martin. That looks like it'll be funny.

And tomorrow - the second week of "American Idol." I hope this season will be as good as the first when one of my colleagues and I would watch it religiously. I wonder what's goin' on on the Spanish version of the show. I saw some of it during winter break. It's called "Operación Triunfo." It was quite different than "American Idol" and I didn't fully understand how it all worked.

So, I think I got my answer from the subject of last Tuesday's blog. And the answer was more or less in the affirmative. I think. I dunno... there's much to work on and work out. ¿Me oyes, papi? :-P

Okay... I've got a LOT of catching up to do with my school work. I gotta try not to sleep so much because there's just too much that needs to be done. Dammit. Why do I always procrastinate?

Bad start to the semester. I'm already slackin'. But what's new, right??

Well, part of my reason for not doing my work is that I've been getting out more than I usually do. It's probably nothing for most everyone else, but I usually don't leave the house 'cept to go to school.

Friday, I made my way back to my parents' house, then ended up going out with Jeannie and some of her friends to a club/lounge in the city. We got there hella late, so, we weren't there too long. It was a nice place. From the outside, kinda looks like a hole in the wall. But on the inside, it was rather spacious, nicely decorated - that is, modern-looking - and there were some trendy (and some not-so-trendy) people in there. Afterwards, we went to Double T Diner. I got home around 5 in the morning.

Then... I got my sleep, then Tara and Jeannie and I made it to the gym again. Oh, my abs were still burning from the last week. We were posta go to the gym again today, but I dunno if I'ma make it cuz I just may wanna sleep. Jeannie got me to go to the club with her and the guys (the same ones from the night before). I was making all kinds of excuses for not going - like that I didn't have no club gear (cuz most my stuff is at my apartment, not my parents' house). And Jeannie was like, we'll get you some clothes. And I'm like, I got no shoes. So, me, Tara, and Jeannie ended up going to the mall for bubble tea and looking and clothing. Got me some pants and a top to match the shoes I was already wearing.

We headed to the club mad late. I thought we weren't even gonna get a chance to enjoy it. But we were there for a good couple hours, I guess. I ended up seeing this dude from my undergrad there. I remember when I used to go clubbing regularly, I used to always see this cat at the club. And though we didn't really talk on campus, save for greeting each other, we would always dance with each other. So, he spots me last night and we dance and fill each other in on what we're up to these days. He tells me I've taken care of my self since the last time we seen each other... asks me if I'm single... Sometimes I wish lying came easy to me, or that I just knew how to be honest cuz, although this guy is cool, I'm not interested in him in "that way." So, I coulda lied and said I was seeing somebody. Or I coulda told him the truth that I didn't have no man (which is what I did)... But then I didn't tell him I wasn't tryna get with him or anything 'cause he was obviously feeling me. But I did end up exchanging info with him.

I also met this Indian guy from Great Britain. He's a medic. Hmm... lemme see whassup with that! LoL... Nah... He seemed nice enough. Don't think I'd be interested in "seeing" him in a romantic way or whatever. But he was okay-looking. And if I wanna go to England before the summer, I hafta let him know cuz after that, he'll be in the States. Heh... I'ma hafta think about that one! ;) We did swap e-mail addresses and telephone numbers.

Met some other guys... not particularly noteworthy. Or I'm just too lazy to re-cap. :-P My friends were jokin' about what a mack I am. Hehe... I'm not really a mack. I'm just a jerk magnet. LoL - nah. These guys weren't jerks. Oh - and on the way out... kinda rubbed shoulders with one of the doormen right quick. Italian-American. But I had thought he was Arab. That's why I had talked to him. Hehe...

Then we ended up going back to one of the guys we went with - to his house for a minute... Then back to Double T Diner... And long story short, I got back in the house at 8:30am. Tara wanted to go to the gym this morning, and earlier than we usually go. But I dunno... Jeannie and I are deliberating on the matter on IM right now. LoL. We're like, if we go, no cardio today if we go or we'll be no more good. Let's see if we even go...

And it's Super Bowl Sunday. I've never done anything for that, but I'm tryna see if something's up. If I don't do anything, ain't no thing. But I'm also down for almost whatever...

I went to the gym again on Sunday. But it was all for nothing, considering what I've eaten since then. Hehe. My fat azz needs to eat! Ha - I actually wish my ass was fat. Can someone give me some tips on how to increase my butt size and get some child-bearing hips? I don't wanna hafta resort to the butt implants. LoL... I just wish I got more of my Black side when it came to distributing the butt genes. Unfortunately, I have my mother's behind from her youth. Well, it's not so bad - she can testify how it draws "the brothers." And I could, too. hehe... But still - it's just not the same. It's not round enough!

Enough about butts... after the gym on Sunday, I went with my mom to her friend's house for a minute. Then I arranged a date with one of my best guy buds, Robert. It took some convincing to get him out, but we finally hung out. I haven't seen him in a while and we haven't talked in a long time. We had a nice time, doing a little bit of catch-up. I took him to the place where my current object of affection works. But Bert didn't know that until a little bit later in the evening.

But, argh! I think it's time I entered a convent. I'm not making or finding any more meaningful relationships with the opposite sex and it's killing me! Okay, no, not really. I'm exaggerating. But it is frustrating! I can't seem to find a guy that I like, who likes me back, AND is worth the time! It's always me liking someone who's off limits... Or someone liking me and me not feeling the same. Or just some other really stupid reason. >:-O

And my current obsession - I just don't get him. I mean, I don't know what the deal is or where we stand. I'm just ready to give up on him. That's my problem: I crush too hard. I think with my emotions, ignoring all my rational thoughts. But that can only last for so long before I snap back to reality. So, if homeboy is as pressed as I am right now, he better act like it. It would work to his advantage if the feeling is mutual for him to stop giving me mixed signals. He may not think he is, but that's how I'm seeing it.

Cuz, shiet - he's interfering with my game. LoL. Nah, it's just that I'll be shootin' down other guys' game for his sake 'cause I can only have a 'serious' crush on one guy at a freakin' time! Dammit. I'm so confused. :-S

My mom would yell at me if she knew how I was behaving for a stupid boy. She, being old-fashioned, says a guy should chase a girl - not a girl chasing after a guy. I think she's right. And I have another friend who's like that. And she's much more strong-willed than I. For this guy who wasn't giving her the same attention she would give him, she was like, "scratch that!" That's the approach I need to take.

Damn American boys! More reason for me to want to move to another country... If I keep throwin' myself at you and I don't feel that you're being responsive enough, I'll eventually learn to say "fuck it." So, you better watch out, Mister! :-P

Alright. No more of my little girl anguish. Wait - one more thing - boys suck! :-P hehe... Okay, I'm done now. :)

I really need to hit the books. I'm already slacking and it's only the beginning of the semester. Sheesh. What the f*** is my problem? Well, honestly, part of its the damn male species. Grrr! But anyway...

I'm auditing Hebrew again this semester. But I'll only be able to attend one of the two classes a week since it conflicts with my Introduction to Arabian Nights class. In that class we'll be reading a few of the stories in Arabic. I'm a little intimidated of the native speaker who's in the class. But my teacher says not to be and to go to him whenever I have a question. Kelly's also in that class. She's the non-native speaker who's married to an Arab. So, she has help at home. All these unfair advantages. It does intimidate me.

I'm also taking a class on Global Terrorism and Islam, one on Contemporary Arab Society, and an Arabic Translation Workshop. I was hoping for a light semester in terms of actual work. But I can see these courses as being time-consuming. Ugh, I hate school.

Last night I went with Justin and Tony to Border's to do some homework. I got a tiny bit of work done. We were there about two hours until it closed at 11. Then we eventually went out for some drinks and talked until that place closed at 1. Then we headed to the liquor store, bought some Malibu and pineapple juice, chilled at Justin's place for a bit. Then we headed to Denny's for some food. I got back in the house maybe around 4am. Had a teeny-weeny hangover feeling. But I feel fine now. I just need to get some homework done. But I lack motivation. *sigh*

Get me to a nunnery...

Sup sup?? Here I go, wit' the 2nd blog for the year...

Craziness - Jeannie finally got me to do what she's been trying to get me to do, and what Nadine has been trying to get me to do, for, like, the past year - go to the gym! It was me, Jeannie, and Tara. I don't know the last time I exercised. But Jeannie told me there'd be cookies along the track, so, that enticed me. LoL...

Then we all went home and showered so we could go out again. We went to this Asian restaurant. I ordered the Lemon grass chicken, but I didn't taste no lemon grass. I won't be going to that place again. It was alright, but I wasn't impressed. Oh, and the Thai iced coffee - it's not better than Vietnamese iced coffee. But they seemed to have pretty good business.

Afterwards, we headed to the movies and saw "A Guy Thing." I didn't really know what it was about since I don't watch TV that much. It was an okay movie. But I wouldn't go rushing to see it. Wait 'til it comes out on video or something.

Next, we headed to the mall for some bubble tea. Then we walked around a bit and I bought a shirt that I can't wait to wear. It has a cartoon bunny on it and it says, "You smell like butt." LMAO.

Then we came back to my house, thinkin' of something to do, but in the end, everyone ('cept me) called it a night. I was ready to do something else. But my friends are old and get tired easy. And early. Heh.

I ended up watching TV with mom dukes. I finally saw "Jumanji." It was pretty good. I was entertained for a couple hours.

So, that was my day. Quite an eventful day for me 'cause I usually never do anything. Ever.

And we're posta go to the gym again tomorrow/today. Let's see if I can make this a habit... Nah - probably not! :-P

HAPPY 2003

As we bring in the new year, I can officially say I've eaten McDonald's in 5 foreign countries (4 continents, and maybe 7 cities, hehe): Mexico, "Israel," Egypt, France, and now Spain. What have you accomplished? :-P

So I've finally come back from yet another one of my travels. The day after Christmas, I jetted the hell out of here & headed across the Atlantic. I hate spending hours in planes, butcha gotta do whatcha gotta do if you wanna see the world. And to stay sane - (at least for me). My way of keeping my sanity is escaping the ennui of my vain existence. *sigh*

When I was on my way to the airport, I saw a girl I recognized from school on the bus. I didn't talk to her until we were at the airport and I discovered we were on the same flight to Germany. She was headed to Kazakstan, which is where she is from originally. And me - final destination: paradise. Ha. Not really.

So, anyway - later, as me and this chick are walking to our gate, I spot a familiar person and shout, "Dana!" It was my old roommate from my last two years of undergrad. I hadn't seen her since right before I graduated, I suppose. (Although, once in a while we exchange a few words via messenger). But anyway, that was cool to run into her. We had someone to kill time with as we waited hours before we could actually board our own flights.

To skip all of that... I finally arrived to my final destination on December 27: the Canary Islands. I spent roughly 10 days there. Most of my time was spent in the city of Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria. (For those who don't know their geography, the Canary Islands is an archipelago belonging to Spain and located right off the coast of Morocco.) I met a few of my internet buddies in Las Palmas. I met a couple other in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which is on the island of Tenerife. It was cool to meet these peeps, but I would have been much better satisfied had I a travel companion. I hate traveling alone. But - ah, well!

So, what can I say about the Islands? Well, the weather was cool - literally. When I got there, it was cloudy and it even rained in the evening. But after that, there were also days of sunshine. Definitely much warmer than home. The temperature was in the 20's (centigrade, of course) for the most part. I don't know what that converts to in Fahrenheit.

The food was decent. Didn't really try a whole lot of Spanish foods. But there's this one Canary dish - papas canarias con mojo. I liked that. I also went to a Singaporean restuaraunt, Chinese, and Korean. All I gotsta say about those places in the Islands, is that Chinese & Korean taste better in the U.S.!

Yeah, there are quite a number of immigrants there: Black Africans, North Africans, Chinese, Korean, Filipinos... I thought that was pretty interesting. It's just that being an American, I guess I kinda expect immigrants, when not speaking their native tongue, to speak English. And to hear them rattling off in Spanish - it throws me off! lol

The Canarians are nice peeps. Better than the Madrilenians (people of Madrid). I also spent about a week in Madrid. Some people who study at my university are from Madrid. When I got there, my roommate and her dad picked me up from the airport late at night. We went back to their place for a while. But then they had to bring me to my other friend's apartment because she would arrive in the morning and I needed to be there to let her in. She had given me the keys to her place when we were both in the States. So nice of her! She was only there with me part of the time. When she left for the States, I went out on my own and hung out a couple times with my roommate's sister and her boyfriend.

The weather in Madrid was colder. During the day it was above zero. It wasn't so bad. It rained a few times, but I wasn't out for that. I did some shopping there and sightseeing. Hung out with my friend and her friends. Even went to the famous Prado museum. Was not impressed. I don't know what I was expecting. Lots of bells and lights or something. Ha. Nah... I just didn't think it was all that. I like much better the National Gallery of Art in Washington. :-P And Goya - I have no clue why he's a famous painter. His works suck. Hehe... Maybe I just gotta get used to him 'cause that's how I feel/felt about Picasso when I saw his artwork. Anyway, El Greco had much better works. I remember I did I report on him for Spanish class in middle school.

Okay - this blog entry is not so chronological and not super-duper detailed cuz I don't feel like explaining and remembering everything. If I did, this entry would be just way too long. So lemme try to think of a few other highlights of my trip... Back in Las Palmas I met this one guy and hung out with him my first night and last day and somewhere in between. He was feelin' me. Haha. But he was cool. Took me to a few bars, restaurants, a club where he goes with his friends, invited me to his house, made me some food... I also met his mom and he had his brother-in-law take me to the airport when I was headed to the mainland.

Another guy I met took me to this really tranquil part of the city. Like a park by the Santa Catalina hotel. It was really pretty. And you could see this building on top of a hill and I'm like, is that a church? And he tells me it's a Korean one. Pretty weird.

I also met the man of my dreams. But like all happy endings, he's taken. D'oh! But yeah, I met him and he was cool. He hung out with me a few times. We went for beers. One night he even took me to a Lebanese restaurant. He helped me buy my boat ticket I needed to go to that other island, Tenerife, for New Year's Eve. After we bought my ticket he was like, let's look at some music. So we were checkin' out the CDs saying who we liked or what we'd heard and this and that. He purchased some CDs and then he hands a bag to me and is like, this is for you. Aww!! He had bought me a CD of one of his favorite groups! He was such a sweety. A really good catch. Too bad I didn't get to meet him in person before he hooked up with his current girlfriend. Hehe. Hey - there's always tomorrow. :) He also gave me this tape of Brazilian music he had recorded for me. Aww. I wish there were more guys like him... I tell ya - they just don't make 'em like they used to! LoL. Oh, and he did seem kinda jealous when he met the guy who had taken me to the park. The guy who had taken me to the park was waitin' with me as I was waiting for the other guy, so I ended up introducing him. When "park boy" left, my other friend made some kind of comment like he looks like a boy or something. But they're both the same age. Hehe.. Anyhoo...

So, I went to Tenerife for a New Year's party. My one internet friend, who's like head bouncer and does promotions for some clubs was at the port in Santa Cruz to pick up his friends he had invited from Las Palmas to the party. They were entertainers and what not. And then he had one of his friends take me to my hotel. I think his friend was a DJ for one of the radio stations in Spain (Los 40 Principales).

And this friend of mine, in the words of my sister and my friend, Nadine, he's "hot." Hehe. Yeah, he's a cutie, the kind you'd think would have lots of women. But he confessed to me that he's actually pretty shy. So, yeah, he got me into this club for New Year's and it was open bar. But I didn't drink much. Only had three drinks. Guess I didn't really feel like drinking much, and besides, I was sort of alone. I wouldn't wanna get drunk without a chaperone, ya know?

I met these entertainers... Some danced. Some sang and danced. Two of the groups performed. I was dancing with one of these guys that was a dancer. Then he pulled me off the floor, to a 'remote' area askin' for a kiss. Ha. I just said nope. Then there was this singing group. They performed, too and it was good. A Spanish R&B group called "3 de voz." Supposedly they've just signed with EMI and they're gonna do a tour of Latin America in the summer. We'll see.

So one of the guys in this group... we were diggin' each other. He was like a fake Jon B. LoL. You would have had to see him to know what I mean cuz he didn't actually look like Jon B. But dayum - his body was bangin'! Haha. He wasn't very tall or anything, but I found him cute. Guess it was his personality. Actually, the finest guy in the group had this skanky-lookin' girlfriend. Hehe. Lemme stop talkin' about people... Anyway - too bad I ain't kickin' out cuz I coulda got some. LoL. Coulda been a groupie. But nah, that's not my style. Had to turn down a piece of ass. lmao...

Anyway, next day I hung out for short while with the bouncer guy. He took me to a high scenic point to see the city. The next week when I spoke to him online he said he was thinking about kissing me when we were alone together. A-ha. Damn, I'm such a mack. Syke... But why can't I get any action in the US? From the cute guys, I mean? Dangit... :-P

At the stroke of midnight I was still at my hotel - this was before I had gotten to the club - in the lobby, eatin' uvas with a bunch of Argentinians, a Spaniard and a Moroccan. Haha. Craziness.

So that was my erratic recount of my 2-week vacation in Spain. I'm glad to be back home. I kind of didn't even want to leave. Dunno why. Maybe it's 'cause of this other guy I met on the 'net (and later in person) last month. He mad cool. Yet I don't know if that'll go anywhere. But, yeah... back in the US. Glad to be out of the pollution. My goodness - I hated having to be submersed in all the cigarette smoke. I just could not stand it. Every-freakin'-where! That's the one good thing about the States - smoking is forbidden in lots of places. I shouldn't have to be subjected to such a health hazard. I'd like to die on my own terms, thank you!

And there you have it. A run-down of the Adventures of Sheena. Next stop: ???. That's to be determined. But I will surely have more trips this year...

Alright - so the last entry wasn't the final one for the year. Here's another. Not too exciting, but I'm rather bored.

Wow - the moon was pretty bright last night. I almost went outside and started howling, until I noticed it wasn't a completely full moon. :-P It's actually still pretty bright right now and it's almost 6am.

So, I'm suffering a bit from insomnia. This past week I was sleep-deprived. I had a final on Wednesday, and seeing as how I never read or studied for anything this entire semester, I had to attempt to cram. Most of my attempts at studying failed. I get so distracted by things like the internet, it's not even funny. I think I need therapy for my internet addiction. :-P

Anyway, Tuesday night I pulled an all-nighter. I slept for maybe one hour, then tried to study for my final, which was scheduled for 4pm, Wednesday afternoon. I went into the exam feeling worried and unprepared, but what could I do at taht point? The exam question seemed a bit hard to me. I hope I didn't fail miserably.

Then I left the test at 6pm. When I got back to my place, I stayed up, even though I was going on only an hour of sleep. I don't know exactly what I was doing... Oh, I talked on the phone, watched TV, did laundry, and went on the 'net. I didn't finally get into bed until around 8 in the morning (Thursday). But - I didn't get much sleep. One of my friends, and I was expecting his call, called maybe a half hour to 45 minutes after I went to sleep. Then we hung out, so... Here I am going on less than 2 hours of sleep. We watched a movie at his place, but I never did see the whole movie. I dozed off. Don't know for how long - maybe a couple hours total.

Next, once I was back at my place, I was trying to figure out how to get to my parents' house and find someone to pick me up once I got into the area of my parents' house. I was at the train station and since it was late, less trains were running. So, I had to wait an hour for the damn train. I hate waiting. Especially when I'm alone. No one to pass the time with... And I was struggling to stay awake. Just strugglin'.

Finally, I was on the train. I sat in a seat by the window and put my 2 bags in the seat next to me. I eventually fell asleep because my body just couldn't take it. Later (I don't know how much later - coulda been 10 to 20 minutes later, not sure), one of the train conductors (or whatever he was) who goes through the cars to punch tickets came through. He woke me up somehow to get my ticket. Well, I was a bit disoriented and rather annoyed. I thought he was just a passenger who wanted to sit in the seat next to me. And remember - I had my bags in the seat, and I looked around a bit and saw some other empty seats. I was thinking: WTF? Of all the empty seats, why does he wanna sit next to me?? And I almost started to move my bags. Then I realized who this guy was. LoL... So, I pulled out my ticket and when he came back to me, I apologized. He said, "It's alright. Happens everyday." Haha...

So, by the time I actually was inside my parents' house, it was late. But I didn't go to bed. Guess what I did? Yep - internet. hehe... And I was on until about 2 or 3 in the morning. I was chattin' a little bit with my girl Nadine. But then I just had to tell her I couldn't take it any more. That my eyelids were gettin' heavy. So... After my few
days with no sleep, I finally settled into my bed. (Now, this is Friday, early morning).

I wake up, finally, after my long-needed sleep. I look at my watch and - say what?? It's 4:30pm. Can you believe? Ha. But even if I wasn't so sleep deprived, I could still sleep that long. Haha...

And now, here I am, still awake and it's Saturday morning. I wonder when will sleep finally overcome me. And I don't know what to do with myself in the meantime. Hmm...

I was gonna try to watch a DVD a few hours ago on my comp. But, I guess since I'm connected to the 'net, it wasn't running smoothly, although I have watched a DVD on here before, while connected to the internet. But, I didn't want to disconnect, so, guess I'm not gonna watch the movie for a while. It was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". I've never seen it before.

Right now, I'm also listening to Al-Jazeera broadcasts in the background. Tryna get myself accustomed to listening to the Arabic. It's cool since I can understand quite a bit of words. But I still need much practice.

I won an auction on e-Bay. It was quick, too. The auction ended this past Sunday and I already have the item. What was it? A Rolling Stone magazine with Shakira featured on the cover. If you know me, you know how much I sweat this chick. I was gonna get a back-issue from the Rolling Stone website, but - shit's expensive! They charge $10 an issue and that's way too much. Who knows how much, if any, shipping and handling is. So, I got my issue for $1.74 plus $3.75 s/h. That's not bad since cover price is like $4.95, I believe.

My sister will be home later today. She'll be here for Christmas. Haven't spent Christmas with her in a few years 'cause she's always been overseas. Too bad I won't see her much since I'll be going out of town soon. I may visit her Spring Break. Unless I decide to leave the country again. :)

I wanna write a poem, but the muses aren't inspiring me right now. So, perhaps I'll look at my magazines with Shakira in them. Or maybe I'll attempt to read a book I bought last night: "Cien Años de Soledad" by Gabriel García Márquez. I got that book 'cause it's Shakira's favorite. LoL.

Alright, then. I'm out...

Okay, so it's nearly 7 in the morning and I'm still awake. Not only did I not sleep last night, I didn't sleep the night before! Save for an hour nap or so. Hmm... maybe I should go to the library. I always manage to sleep in there. :-P But, yeah, right! I ain't goin' in there! Not until next year. I finally, finally finished this damn semester. I probably failed. But I'm finished for now. :-T

I'm looking forward to vegetatin' a little bit. Wait - I always do that. Well, this time I'm allowed to do it. And I need to get to the stores. Christmas is comin', the goose is getting fat... And I still haven't bought presents my family yet.

And I'm lookin' forward to New Years! This will be my 3rd New Years where I'ma actually out the house. From ages 1 throught 20, I would ring in the New Year doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Then I finally got out the house with one of my friends to chill at someone else's house. It wasn't all that, but it was better than being at home, laying on the floor, listening to music. And last New Years, I was in México! That was cool. Got to spend it with my best Mexican friend and her family and partake in a few traditions, as well as for Day of the Three Kings.

Now, this New Years... I will be at an undisclosed locale. Dancing to hip-hop and who knows what else. Getting pissy drunk 'cause it's open bar. Stayin' out 'til the early mornin'. I plan to wild out. :-D I hope I have fun...

So, this may be my last post of two thousand two. Wow. Time's a-flying! Where does it all go?

So I still haven't learned. Still procrastinatin' like nobody's business. And the semester is almost over. I am so ready to just drop out - if I don't flunk out first!

Well, looks like November has gone, and now December is sort of zipping away. Well, let's see what things happened last month... I went to a Karaoke bar for the first time. I'd done Karaoke at friends' houses, but I'd never actually gone to a restaurant where they have that kinda stuff. Yay, me - I'm on my way to stardom. Nah... I was a bit nervous in the beginning. You know, performing in front of people, my voice was a bit shaky. But then I eventually relaxed some and broke it down for them. Lemme stop. Haha. But I did sing. And everybody else was eatin' sushi (it was a sushi bar). Gross. When I got there, there was this white chick singin' Japanese. Like, whoa. J/k.

Then the week following the Karaoke, it was Jeannie's birthday and guess what - sushi again. Sheesh. This was not at that sushi/Karaoke bar, but at one of her favorite restaurants. I always say that I don't like Japanese food and what not. But I'll try certain things (none of that seafood stuff, though). And in the end, I'm usually not satisfied. I don't know what it is. I think it's genetic 'cause my mom and sis don't like Japanese food either. Anyhow...

Afterwards, all of us went back to her house and... guess what? We did some Karaoke. Eric brought over his equipment. Jeannie - one of these days I'll play DDR with you, but you have to get really drunk so that you won't even remember you played it with me. And won! LoL

So, following my disappointment with Japanese... food stuffs. I was happy that the next day, Jeannie and JP and I got some Vietnamese food *drool* before they dropped me back off at my place. I need to be treated more often to Viet cuisine.

Now we fast forward to Thanksgiving. It was good. My dad's cousin always invites us up to her place in Philly. I was upset, though, that I didn't eat that day, then, after just one plate, I was full! I wanted to stuff my self! We ought to hold Thanksgiving more often, just so that I can eat. Hehe...

I am sleepy. I haven't slept. Like, in a while. If I stay up for another... seven and a half hours, I will have gone 2 days without sleeping. School is gonna be the death of me. This is what happened... I woke up Thursday morning with the intention of going to class. All I had was a little oral test with my conversation teacher, then the class with my grammar teacher. So, I got up - it was around 8:30 or something - and I went to the potty room. Then I saw the snow out the window! Seeing those flurries, I was like, hell, nah. And I took my butt right back to bed. :-P

So, I woke up around 11am. Not because I wanted to, 'cause I could have slept the rest of the day. But I had a presentation to work on for Friday. I also had my Arabic proficiency exam to take. So, I tried to work on the presenation. That went by slowly and I didn't finish when Friday morning came. I even drank coffee a couple times Thursday 'cause I knew I would be pulling an all-nighter.

I had to leave for the written part of my Arabic exam, which was scheduled for 9am. So, I left the house Friday at a little after 8:30 and shoot - I didn't realize the impact of the snow. I mean, I'd been holed in the entire day before. So, I had to walk to school and I wasn't wearing the right shoes for that snow and ice shiet. That was kind of annoying. But fast forward - the written exam. It was a lot harder than I had expected. It was 3 and a half hours long. And all of us who had taken the exam used up every minute that was given to us. I'm not sure how I did.

Then after that was over, I had roughly an hour to try to work on my stupid presentation. And the class for that presentation was having it's make-up session (because we needed an extra class) at 2 in the afternoon. So, didn't really have a whole lotta time to fix up what I had. And then, after I did horribly on my presentation, I had the oral part of my proficiency exam.The ironic thing is that I always thought, yeah, maybe I won't pass the orals, but I've got a good chance on the written. But after all that, I felt the written was a little too much for me, while the oral wasn't bad.

The oral was conducted by my Arabic grammar teacher and this other guy who teaches Arabic elsewhere. It was cool. I need more practice with speaking. My Arabic teacher said he thinks I would make a good linguist 'cause I'm good with languages. He was kinda braggin' about me to the other guy. :-D And the other guy had asked me how long I'd been studying Arabic. I told him not long 'cause I'd only started just last year. Anyway... I wonder if I'll pass either portion of the test. We won't find out until late Monday.

Well, I've got loads of crap left to do for this semester. Hope I get them done. When's the last day you can withdraw from a class (or two. or three)? :-P I'm already prepared for failure. =T

Anyway, I need to get off this here comp. My ass is fallin' asleep at the keyboard...

Matai ani almad? What? You don't know what that says? You better learn you some transliterated Hebrew if you don't know! :-P Nah, it says, when will I learn? I've gotten zero work done these days. And I went out Friday and Saturday night. Though good for my sanity, it's not necessarily good for my grades. Oh, well - too late!

So, Friday night I went to an Arabic party. Was with Nadine and Basem. Hadn't seen Basem since we graduated together. Then saw some other peeps from school there. It was cool. Got my dance on. Also saw another dude I went to undergrad with there, coincidentally. He saw me and was like, "What are you doing at an Arabic party?" I go, "I'm Arab." He says, "You are?" Haha... Then I told him, no. But I could pass... :)

Then... tonight or last night or whatever...Hung out with my Asian peeps. Vietnam in the hiz-ouse! Got our groove on... Now my feet hurt from my damn boots and my knees feel all banged up from the dancing - you know, 'cause of the impact... Guess it's the same concept as for runners who run on pavement as opposed to dirt or grass... Anyway, it was cool. Mad people was at the club. Nice diverse crowd. For example, one of the guys who tried to talk to me was Viet/Chinese. Another guy I danced with was Polish/Filipino. And the last guy I talked to was Lebanese. It was a fun time, although I wanted to hear my pop and rock en español I need to get out more and I need to be with my raza more often.

I'm listenin' to Son By Four's "A Puro Dolor". I've been wanting to hear the song 'cause I been watchin' the telenovela "Mis Tres Hermanas". It's from, like, 2 years ago, but it comes on the Spanish channel I get and they play parts of that song in the show. Santiago and Lisa are really good-looking people. I think I need to go Venezuela just so I can see the people, so beautiful.

Anyway, it's the wrong time for me to still be awake. I hope I can fall asleep soon so I don't waste the entire day. Ugh - I hate when that happens. Bye.

Anti-War Demonstration

Today was a day of protest around the world. I marched today along with thousands of my fellow Americans - we, Americans, who are the true patriots. The weather was decent and it was another peaceful demonstration. I heard Susan Sarandon as well as some other individuals speak. Then when I finally got to a position where I could see the people on the stage, I saw other celebrities like Jesse Jackson, Congresswoman McKinney, and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark. The lawn was packed. And muddy, too. The group I was with started to join the other protestors to prepare to march just as Al Sharpton started to speak. But then we left when it was his turn was coincidental. :)

All of the messages were good. From those at the podium to all the signs people were holding. I just wish the warmongers of this country knew what all these people know. That is, the TRUTH. Some of the messages:
1) All we are still saying is give peace a chance
2) Regime change begins at home
3) Not in my name
4) Israel out of our Congress
5) No blood for oil
6) Drop Bush, not bombs
7) Iraq: Weapon of Mass Distraction
8) Act like it's a globe - not an empire
9) (with the pictures of some politicians like Bush) the Asses of Evil
10) (and one something like this) Make _____, not war
a) cookies
b) art
c) love
d) SENSE!
11) Money for jobs, not war
12) Killing one person is murder; killing 1000's of people is foreign policy
13) It's about economics, stupid

I hope the masses will get through to our oligarchy. I hope that some people saw the program on C-SPAN2. It was a debate on the subject of war with Iraq, which took place at Georgetown University. I only heard some of the things one of the speakers, a professor from UCSF, said of how ridiculous an impending war with Iraq would be. You shoulda seen it. I wonder if there's a transcript somewhere...

We need a reform of our whole damn electoral process. It's so bullshit. Speaking of B.S., this was another message on signs and shirts: BUSHIT.

Okay, time for some h.w...

'Bout damn time they caught the sniper! Or DID they?? :-P Who the hell cares. I just don't wanna hear about it no more...

So, anyway - on to more important things. I went to the movies tonight. I don't get out much, nor do I frequent the theatres. But it's always good to get out. Went to see "Brown Sugar" with Nadine. I liked it. You know - a love story. Go see it and support Black films. If we're gonna waste our money on things we don't need, why not give back to the community?!

The weekend is just about here. And I should spend much of it studying. But I probably won't. Last weekend I spent my time... Saturday afternoon I was at the mall with JP and Jeannie. Saw a couple peeps from undergrad there. Didn't buy anything 'cause nothing caught my eye. I want shoes and pants, though... Then, later that evening, Tara and I went to TGI Friday's. We were there until around 2AM. Then Sunday, I caught a few hours of TV on satellite. Got to see Christina Aguilera on some show called something like "Stripped in NY". Interesting that this new album will reveal the real Christina. I'll probably go get it. Then I got to see my girl Shakira on "Making the Video: 'Objection'" or whatever the heck the show's called. Then on like MTV2, I finally got to see her 'unplugged'. And she did that show way before she crossed over. I was happy. Too bad I ain't have a video tape handy so I could record it...

Man, it's already midnight. I'm shuttin' down the blog. Then I'll talk to one of my internet buddies for a minute before I call it a night or do some homework. Peace!

Half-way through the semester... Why can't it be over already?! :-P I had two midterms last week and I don't think I did all that great on them. Why do I always wait until the day before or the day that something is due before I start it?

I'm annoyed with this sniper stuff. The media is just puttin' everything out there so that whoever's responsible for all this crap is just laughing from his little den at the incompetence (I'm being hard) of the people who are supposed to be maintaining law and order. And I think the BBC's coverage of the whole ordeal is better. Brief and to the point. I don't need to hear all day long that no one knows what's going on!

Bush is an idiot, talkin' about needing a regime change in Iraq. We need a damn regime change in the U.S. Then this fool got the nerve to say that Iraq has been ignoring the UN and the free world for the past 11 years. WTF??? So, what do you call the illegal State of Israel? They've been ignoring UN Resolutions as well as the opinion of the international community right from the get-go. Those fuckerz...

But I was perusing the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and one of the articles said the public opinion was shifting in favor of the Palestinians in the US and abroad, including in Israel, as more people are realizing the atrocities that are/have been committed. That's a little encouraging!

Fall is definitely here. It's brisk out. Walking home, I noted the beautiful red-orange color of the leaves gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Oh, shit- look how I'm talking! I got a bit of a romantic in me that wants to come out. Hehe...

Do you know I've found myself gazing upon the squirrels wondering what it would be like to be one of them? The way they prance around and move with such agility (ignoring their moments of ineptitude when confronted with moving objects heading in their direction!), seemingly so carefree. If only I weren't trapped in the walls of higher learning, maybe I wouldn't imagine myself as a squirrel. LoL. I was reminded of Julio Cortázar's "Axolotl" - but my thoughts were definitely not that deep or serious! And now that winter will soon approach, I probably won't get that far into such a thought process! But I never really cared too much for Cortázar. He was a little too existential or something for me. Or maybe it was the sophistication of the literature combined with the fact that I had to read him in Spanish...

Mom dukes is heading to the Motherland in a few days. Oh, how I wish I were in another country! Soon enough...

It's crunch time! I've procrastinated since the start of the semester. Now here I am, two weeks away from mid-terms and I'll soon be panicking! I need to lock my self up for the next couple of weeks until I learn everything there is to know about the political economy of the Middle East and the beginnings of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Sheesh. This is gonna suck.

I had intended to get some reading done over the weekend. But of course that didn't happen, as I went to New York with a classmate. Her bro goes to law school up there, so, she wanted to check out his place and hang out with some friends she had up there. It was an alright trip. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better. Like for example, why did we have two movie nights? Okay, Friday night, we went out to eat at this French restaurant then we ended up back at the brother's apartment where we watched "John Q". The movie was okay. I don't care to watch it again, but I thought it was a great subject to bring to the screen. I can feel the whole insurance issue. Tell me why I have to pay for mines with some damn loans! Not to mention, the care ain't all that! I need to move my ass to a socialist country. =P

Anyway, if it wasn't bad enough to go all the way up to NYC to rent a movie, we went to the movies the following night. Well, first, we went to the Village and did some shopping. I saw one of the members of the group O-Town. The light-skinned, baby-face kid. He was outside some store and it appeared that he was being interviewed, seeing how someone had a tape-recorder all up in his grill. Anyway... I bought a skirt and a shirt. I wonder when I'll actually wear 'em...

Later on we went to this restaurant called Tao, an Asian bistro. Now, when my friend first told me about this place before we went up to NY, she sent me this link. I looked it up and what not and was kind of appalled. Why do people like to exploit Asian culture so much? I don't care if this is some Asian-owned establishment. My impression was kind of negative. I was like, what the hell is up with this? The restaurant had a Chinese-sounding name, this huge Buddha statue was the kind I associate with Thailand, I saw the word "wasabi" and was like, okay, Japanese stuff... Then the article I looked at also mentioned something about Korean and Vietnamese food or something like that. What the hell? I hate places like that. I'm more into authentic places. Where they specialize in one, or maybe two, cuisines. If that wasn't enough, when we got to the joint, I ain't see a damn Asian face at first. I saw these white chicks wearing the Chinese-style dresses and that annoyed me. But I eventually did see some Asians that worked there. Like maybe 2. Or three.

Anyway, what I had to eat wasn't all that. The place is overrated. Whatever. Afterwards we started walking, but with no clear destination. Then I saw some really bright lights and was like, what's that? Is that a "dirty" place we're not supposed to go to? Like strip joints and stuff? Hehe... That's what I was thinkin'. But then my friend's bro was like, nah, that's Times Square. So I asked if we could head down that way and we did. Lotsa people, lotsa light. Pretty cool. We ended up seeing "Road to Perdition" at a theater around there. I liked the movie, but again, why the hell did we go all the way up to NYC to go to the damn movies? So, anyway, the movie was good. The best line went something like: "Your just a baby boy who doesn't know his thumb from his dick." Hahaha... I thought that was funny.

Anyhoo, that's my trip in a nutshell. Don't feel like elaborating any more on it. 'Cept, if I go back, I need to go with certain kindsa peeps and hit up the more 'urban ureas'. Nah mean? And damn, there weren't enough cuties around. Where da hot boys at? =) Oh, and the place where we were staying - it was overrun with J... um... with juice. Yeah, that's it. Juice. heheh...

Okay, so I'm gonna go defrost some meat so I can try out a recipe. And I need to find some grub I can eat before I go to bed. And I need to do some damn Arabic homework. Ugh. When will this semester be over?? Wish me luck. I need it!

Last Friday I went to a party. It was a school function, actually. An annual shindig for the student, faculty, staff and friends of the Center I'm a part of at school. It was alright. But why wasn't anyone chaperoning me?! I'm sayin', wine is a "sophisticated" drink that you sip on, right? Well? Why wasn't anyone stopping me as I drank my cups like Kool-Aid? LoL. Basically, my ass was drunk that night. I didn't realize how much that alcohol had affected me while I was queen of the dancefloor (hehe). Only when I left the floor to go to the bathroom did I actual notice that I couldn't walk straight. =) And my memory of that night is in parts. I felt like time didn't go by quick that night, but, it turned out that I spent quite a bit of time in the different places we went to after the party. I can't really explain. I just know that when I was getting out the taxi, I saw the gutter and turned behind me to Nadine saying, "Be careful" and what not 'cause there's a bit of a decline in the road. I step over the gutter onto the curb and - kerplop! I fall. Ironic.

Anyway, I had a bit of a hangover in the morning. My hangovers don't consist of headaches, but of stomach aches. I just ended up sleeping that morning. And I didn't get any homework done that weekend. In fact, I haven't been getting any work done, period. I need to stop that. I am not trying to prolong my studies. Oh - I am accepting donations for all those who want to contribute to my college fund. How else am I gonna pay back over 60 grand in student loans? Besides the obvious answer of marrying rich? (Yeah, right. I would never marry for money! But it doesn't sound like a bad idea right now... lol).

Okay, I don't feel like writing anymore. Plus, I don't have much to say. Or at least nothing I feel like revealing at the moment. ;) So, peace out, homie G's!

What is up with "Fat Free" Jell-O pudding?? I mean, the fact that I'm eating chocolate pudding, do you think I care if it's got fat in it or not? Heh. Actually, I just don't think it tastes good if it don't got fat in it! That's like a general rule - if it tastes good, it's probably not good for you! :)

So, here I am in front of the computer. You know what that means- I should be doing my homework! But, old habits die hard. I'll never be a good student. Ever. How I made it this far is one of the world's mysteries. I better shut up. Don't wanna jinx myself! :-P

So, last week on the 11th, I guess they were having all these memorial ceremonies all around the country. When my classmates and I were on our way from our convo class to grammar and 4 fighter jets, or whatever the hell they were, flew overhead. I'll be damned if me and Nadine didn't get all scared. We heard this loud noise and I sorta ducked and almost covered my ears. That was kinda crazy. Then one of our classmates was teasing us saying, "It's okay. You never hear the one that actually hits you." We both gave him a punch in the arm. hehe

And something's wrong with me. Well, that's nothing new. But also last week, I sneezed, letting out a little "choo" sound. Then, for some inexplicable reason I exclaimed, "hap-py birthday." And if you woulda heard me you woulda looked at me really strange. No, but stranger than you look at me now. lol

I caught another documentary on World Link TV the other night. It was called "Good Kurds, Bad Kurds". The Kurds are found in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and I guess Russia. The "good Kurds" - according to the US regime, are the ones persecuted by Saddam, and the "bad" ones are the ones in Turkey. It's all related to the BS that our government propogates. You know, all part of the hypocrisy which is our so-called democracy (see Malcolm X). Basically, it's bad for Saddam to kill his Kurdish population, but it's okay for Turkey to do it - and with US weapons - because Turkey is one of the only democracies in the Middle East. And the injustice continues.

Anyway... I'm out!

Today was a long azz day for me. It's my busy day at school. Why, oh, why did I pile all my classes (or the bulk of 'em) in one day? And not only that- why am I taking what I'm taking? Sheesh. I'll be glad when it's all over.

Anyway, so I come home, flip on the TV. And what's this I see? All this September 11th crap. Sorry- not interested. So, I turned to Telefutura. There, they were showing a Venezuelan game show called "Aprieta y Gana". That's what I'm talking about. Although I didn't actually watch it. And then Mexican soccer came on. And I'm no sports fan, but it was better than listening to Bush.

But I went into the kitchen to fix me some eatins'. Wanted to use up some o' my food before it went bad. (Won't even tell you what those ingredients were! lol) I made some soup. Wasn't very good, but still edible. But man- what a difference a little cilantro and green onions can make! I made some fake pho. Okay, so it was nothing like pho. I didn't even have half the stuff you need for it. But whatever.

I went to a museum with JP and Jeannie this weekend. It was modern art and sculptures. It was alright. This one exhibit they had was freaky! Some sculptures on loan from the Australian museum had these life-like figures. Creepy stuff... And it was a beautiful day. We've been having some pretty great weather these days. Then soon it'll be autumn and all the leaves will fall. It'll be cold and windy. And sometimes rainy. But that means winter is coming and I can get my tail the hell out of this country! Yay! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Heh...

So, anyway... after the museum, I showed JP how to get to this one Vietnamese spot. We ate at this one restaurant then went next door to get some bubble tea. Well, I didn't have any. I was pretty full from the restaurant. I was thinking as we were arriving at this Vietnamese plaza, "it would be funny if I saw Tammy here." And sure enough, while we were at the bubble tea place, a girl enters the store and we're all staring and squinting at each other. She goes, "Sheena?" I go, "Tammy?" hehe.. Then it was a hug and a buncha giggles and what not...

I also went out with some grad students Friday night. We went to the harbor and it was nice. Still the pleasant weather, lots of people. I saw some people from my undergrad. I got the attention of one and started talking to him. Funny how I'll talk to people I never talked to before just because I encounter them in a new and separate setting.

Speaking of talking to people you never talked to before... Today, after one of my classes, one of my classmates approaches me. When I first saw him the first day, I thought he looked familiar, but I simply could not place his face. I later resolved that he was in one of my classes from one of the two previous semesters. Turns out, he went to my alma mater and that's where I had a class with him! He had recognized me. Funny, we both give credit to the one professor we both had for getting us into our grad school programs.

I was hatin' on one of my friends last week. I was talkin' to Nadine last week, reminding her that Enrique Iglesias would be in town. Do you know this girl told me how this one guy (that one of our classmates tried to hook her up with) called her up and was like, I've got an extra ticket to the Enrique concert if you wanna go... WHAT?!?! Why didn't he call me up? And what the hell is a guy doin' goin' to an Enrique concert? Geez... Anyway, I'm over it. I got my own Spaniard anyhow... Syke.

Okay... what should I do? I'm gonna try to be more productive with my school work. I don't wanna go through the panic phases right before my mid-terms or whatever. Wow. This is gonna be, like, the first time I actually have mid-terms. I had mostly papers last school year.

I think I'll work on some Arabic right now while I watch TV or listen to some music. Until next time...

Good job, America! You voted and chose Kelly Clarkson as your American idol. Woo-hoo! That's what I'm talkin' about. :) Yeah, I casted about 15 votes for homegirl. That girl got a little bit o' soul in her. :) Even Mary J. Blige, Melissa Joan Hart and Lois from "Malcolm in the Middle" were rootin' for her!

So... I'm back in school and sure as hell don't wanna be here. :( Here's wishin' the school year zooms by! I'm takin' 4 classes for credit and auditing one. Three classes are in my concentration and are a total of 9-credits, which is a full-load for grad school. The other course is 6-credits of Arabic which I need in order to pass a proficiency exam so I can hopefully graduate. Then the class I'm auditing is Hebrew. So far, there are only 2 other students in that class. Hope it stays that way 'cause I think we're all pretty much on the same level, though we each have our own strengths and weaknesses. I would just hate for someone else to join who's obviously got no aptitude for language-learning. Plus my classmates actually make an effort to pronounce the language right. I hate American accents in foreign languages! (But one of my classmates is Mexican, but anyway...)

In my Arabic class, we've got certain ones in there who just don't got it. Or it takes 'em a while. I get frustrated in there. During summer Arabic I asked my teacher, "Do you ever just wanna choke your students?" LoL. He was like, nah, I'm not a violent person. I go, "I'm not either. I just have violent thoughts." Haha... But I tell ya, in reference to my particular class, being of a Semitic peoples does not make you predisposed to learning a Semitic language. (And I'm not talking about the only Arab in the class, if you know what I mean) But you ain't heard it from me! =X

So, anyway, I'm takin' all these classes. One on the Arab-Israeli conflict with a visiting professor from Israel, another on the Political Economy of the Middle East (it's a required course), and another on Syrian/Lebanese politics. And I don't wanna be in any of 'em! If I could just study languages, I'd be content. After I get my degree - if I get my degree - I shall never, ever return to school again. Buh-leee dat! What sucks for me this semester, besides taking these courses I don't think I'll excel out, my dumb tail thought it'd be a good idea to schedule everything on the same day. I figured, that'll give me more "free" days to do whatever. So, Arabic is every freakin' morning, as usual, Hebrew is Mondays and Fridays, the Arab-Israeli course is Monday/Wednesday, and every thing else is Wednesday! So, yeah- that was today. I was in class all damn day long. From 9:15am 'til 8:30 tonight. And since it was the grande finale of "American Idol" this evening, which started at 8, you know I set my VCR. hehe

So... Saturday I went to see this documentary produced/directed/written... by 2 Georgetown grads. It was called "The Pocket" and it was a documentary on Go-go music. It was a'ight. But there were a lotta caucazoids in attendance. Ain't nuttin' wrong with that, but all my classmates that went had never heard of Go-go music before. And I'm sure that most of the other white people hadn't either. There were some black folk up in there who knew what was up. LoL. Then afterwards, a few bands played: Uncalled 4 and Little Benny and the Go-go AllStars. But in between this punk-rock band played. They were all right, but pretty much out of place there, ya know! Basically, they're from DC and say they love go-go, so, that was their connection to it all...

But after all that, I was in the mood to hit up a go-go. I gotta find someone to roll wit', though. I am not tryna go with someone who doesn't already know what it's about. And plus, even though they might dig it, I might be embarrassed with the way they dance. Haha!

Anyway, I should do my Arabic homework. And I should also feed my belly. I'm sleep- and food-deprived at the moment. Only about 112 days to go 'til I get the hellz outta here! =P

So I watched "Lord of the Rings" with my mother tonight. It was okay, I guess. Didn't like the ending. I was like, I don't get it? What just happened? I'm not sure if I missed something 'cause I was a little tired watching that 3-hour flick. It was "The Mummy Returns" meets "Harry Potter" meets "The Tomb Raider". Okay, so maybe not. But once you see one special effect, you've seen 'em all. The aforementioned movies did come to mind while I was watching LOTR. But, I guess the storyline was different. :-P

The night before I watched this documentary on World Link TV again (that channel has some good stuff sometimes). It was called "Fire and Water" about this Iraqi (I forget his name) who earned his degree at the University of Ottawa (where he met his Canadian wife) in something like Chemistry or Chemical Engineering or something along those lines. The eventually went to live in Iraq, but the guy publicly spoke out against Saddam and his horrible human rights record. He ended up in prison for 11 years during the 80s. He didn't get to watch his, then, 3 kids grow up. And this man being Shiite Muslim is not exactly a favorite to the Sunni government. Anyway, the family including a little daughter that was born after dude got out of jail (where he was tortured but not killed because his specialized knowledge was useful to the Iraqi regime) are now living in Southern Iran. They regularly change place of residence and use aliases amongst their neighbors since they're still in danger from the Iraqi police. They currently help refugees out by supplying food and medicine.

I'm soooo bored! If I don't experience a great change in my life soon (being within the next year), I'm gonna go insane or into a deep depression! Okay, maybe not so drastic... But who knows? :-P

You know the Top Ten lists David Letterman does? Once he did the one that follows. They're not all funny, but some of 'em gave me a little chuckle. See? Toldja doesn't take a lot to make me happy. :)

Top Ten Signs You're Dumb


10. You stopped watching wrestling because it's too complicated

9. The hot beverage warning on Starbucks cups mentions you by name

8. On census form you count yourself plus the guy in the mirror

7. You augment your income by photocopying quarters

6. As a special treat you take yourself to Jiffy Lube and you don't own a car

5. Fear of injury keeps you from using a comb

4. Just spent two hours trying to improve the reception on your microwave

3. According to you, this week Amercian King Fidel Castro got on a spaceship, went to the planet of Cuba and met with dictator Jimmy Connors

2. You're a Tampa Bay Devil Rays season-ticket holder

1. You choke on a pretzel

Yay! I got A's for both summer sessions of Arabic! Not like it was surprising or anything (hehe), but I'm gonna take pride in these grades now 'cause I don't expect to see many A's this upcoming semester in any of my non-language courses. Even though I already pre-registered way back when, I still haven't figured out my fall schedule. This sucks. I already know I have to take Arabic and this other course that's required for my major. But that leaves me two other courses I must take and I'm tryna figure do I wanna do both of those in my concentration or one in my elective or what. And then I wanna squeeze Hebrew in there, which I would be auditing. Ugh, I'm dreading this all. One of the classes I'm taking has these certain pre-reqs which I didn't actually fulfill. Hope I don't fail!

Enough of that... I saw this Brazilian film on World Link TV the other day called "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands." Kinda weird. It was a fantasy flick made in 1977 in Portuguese (English subtitles). Something about it reminded me of the movie "Como Agua Para Chocolate". Anyway, the main actress who played Flor is still on TV today. She's on the PBS program called "American Family."

I also watched on the same channel a Tunisian film called "The Silences of the Palace." My Arabic professor had mentioned it in class this summer and said it was good. It was okay. Maybe I just didn't understand the significance of certain things. But I like "Dona Flor" better.

Then, last night (yeah, I'm doing a TV marathon, lol), I watched this kinda documentary called "Naji al-Ali: An Artist with Vision". Naji was a Palestinian cartoonist born in Palestine in the late 30s. His family ended up in a refugee camp in Lebanon with the formation of the racist state of Israel. He was assassinated in London and they still don't know who did it. Scotland Yard didn't figure it out, but speculation points fingers at the Mossad or the PLO. But his cartoons were good. He had a way of portraying social and political situations and sentiments in the Arab world. His works are characterized by this one figure named Hanthala which he places in all of his drawings. Hanthala is a boy and you only see his backside. While everyone may ask, why does he have his back to us? In actuality, he's facing Palestine or he's just turning his back to those have turned their backs on the Palestinians. He's a really great symbol. You should read up on this cartoonist and his works. Just, like, do a Google search for "Naji al-Ali" (there are variations on the spelling of his name).

Man - only 6 more days 'til school starts and I haven't gotten my act together. Damnit. Is it almost winter break yet? 'Cause when it is, I'm gettin' the hell outta here! Just 126 more days ('til I skip town)... :Þ

It's been a loooong time. I been lazy. Sue me! Hehe. Speakin' of suing... Why didn't anybody tell me about this: Millions for Reparations? And there's a rally goin' on today! White America - you owe my black azz! Where's my 40 acres and a mule? Shieeett... Ha. But for real, this is one of the reasons you won't catch me wavin' an American flag. If we had no reason to wave it during slavery and segregation and what have you, why we gonna suddenly start doing so 'cause of Sept. 11? Sheesh.

Anyway, there are some whites present at this rally, as I've read in some article from the AP by Janelle Carter: Ken McDouall of Durham, N.C., one of a handful of whites at the rally, said the reparations issue "cuts to the core of the history of injustice of America.'' Does it ever! I just may purchase a t-shirt if I like how it looks.

So... I'm done with summer school. Been out for a week already and so bored! I can't believe half my vacation is already over with, yet in my ennui, the days are dragging on... I'm so not looking forward to starting the fall semester. But at the same time, I can't wait for it to be down and over with it. I have this fear that my final year of grad school will go by so slowly. Then I have this fear that I'll fail. :-P Well, at least I passed my "Intensive 2nd-Level Modern Standard Arabic" this summer.

Went out Thursday night with Justin and a few others. Ended up seeing 5 kats I know from undergrad- all Kappas, I think. The night was only "alright". Wasn't all that, but at least I got out the freakin' house! I think I'm going to go insane if my life doesn't change soon. You'll all be visiting me at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. That's where my mom said I needed to go. Do ya'll know what it is? It's a nut house. LoL. This is kind of interesting: I just did a little homework on it and it was started in 1855 and used to be called "the Government Hospital for the Insane." Then during the Civil War, "wounded soldiers treated here were reluctant to admit that they were in an insane asylum, and said they were at St. Elizabeths, the colonial name of the land where the Hospital is located." (Got that from some NIH site.)

I finally saw "Lady & the Tramp" the other day. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. But there were some cute parts. And parts that made my eyes water. I also saw "The Mothman Prophecy" or whatever it's called. Wasn't impressed with that either. I wanna go see Martin Lawrence's "Run Tell Dat." :)

I had had a check-up earlier this week. My blood pressure is good, despite the fact that I eat salt as if it was itself a food. Heh. And my weight- I'll be damned. Granted I was wearin' my Air Force Ones (hightops), my weight was 10lbs more than what I expected! Guess eating all of that good Vietnamese food beforehand wasn't such a good idea. Who am I kidding- of course it was!

Hey, I think I'm developing an old soul. Three out of the four CDs I purchased in the past few weeks are before my time. I got one of Astrud Gilberto, a pioneer in bossa nova. (Brazil just celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Girl from Ipanema"). The music's real chill. Quite tranquil. I also got a collection of Love Songs sang by Etta James. Wow- what a voice. And I also got some music of Carly Simon. Besides that, I've been looking into singers of the mid-twentieth century, give or take a few years. Guess I'm kinda late in discovering real jazz and blues and stuff. Speaking of this genre, I just found out that Norah Jones is the daughter of a famous musician: Ravi Shankar! Who'da thunk it?